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Sunday, December 29, 2013

In the Abuko Nature Reserve/The Gambia

A great place for
nature observations in The Gambia is the Abuko Nature Reserve (the oldest nature reserve in Gambia). It is placed
near the Lamin Stream and the village of Abuko in western Gambia. The access is
easy and in the park, there is only one way (no danger to get
lost). The area is covered by savanna bushlands and
gallery forests. I had the luck to stay there for several hours. The guide
books recommend a tour in two hours, I think it makes more senseto planfouror fivehours visiting all
places and have a longer stop at the crocodile pool (a lake at the visitors
center, called Darwin Station) and on the observation points in the forest
areas.

Forest on the crocodile pool in the Abuko Nature Reserve.

The area is a good place for
birding. Unfortunately wearrived
too latein
the morning (at 10 a clock in the morning) and most birds were
gone. Nevertheless,
we could still observe some species and it was a great trip. Beside many
passerine birds (firefinches, cordon-bleus and mannikins), Western plantain-eaters,
Snowy-crowned
Robin-Chats,
we saw some hornbills and African Thrushes. The highlights of the tour were a
Giant Kingfisher and Violet Turacos.

African Jacana at the crocodile pool.

Far away in the trees, a African Pied Hornbill.

Bronze Mannikin are one of several passerine birds that are present in the park.

A Giant Kingfisher near the crocodile pool.

A Violet Turaco in the forest.

Always present and one of the most common birds in Gambia, the Western Plantain-eater.

There are no large mammals in the
area. Only duikers and bushbucks are present, both were too fast for me and my
camera. Green and Western Red -colobus monkeys were common along the forest area
near the crocodile pool. Sun Squirrels should be frequently (after the guide book), I
saw only one hidden in the forest.